In the streethaiku series, An Xiao specifically seeks to marry the haiku concepts of aware and yugen with Cartier-Bresson’s decisive moment, to at once capture the inherent transience of city life and the moments of awe in which urban dwellers sometimes find themselves. Through her work, she wants to present the idea that life in the worlds’ megacities can be delicate and impermanent, both in day to day reality and over the course of years of gentrification or decay. Click to view.
An Xiao’s studies of self focus on two key areas. First, it’s about the rise of the individual self, and a mild Internet-aided solipsism that’s becoming a fabric of 21st century culture. She sees it everywhere in society, especially with the rise of blogging and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. And secondly, it’s about how this new era of self-love intersects with traditional concepts of self, self-awareness, and identity. Click to view.
fall winter spring summer…and fall
Once the province of radicals and hippies, the welfare of the natural world is coming to the fore as a key concern of the 21st century. As evidence of climate change grows, politicians and citizens alike are paying more attention to their actions and policies and their impact on the environment. In this series, An Xiao looks at moments in nature imbued with a poetic impermanence threatened by even subtle changes in the global environment. Click to view.